I thought he played it more like a mandolin, being that there are only four strings on a uke and four pairs of strings on a mandolin. Regardless, it has a good sound to it, I’ll say that. I wouldn’t have guessed an old coffee can would work that well.

Looks like the long lost American cousin of the Okinawan kankara sanshin (sanshin made from a can). From what I can tell, cans were used because traditional materials were scarce immediately after the war. It is enjoying a bit of a resurgence in Japan these days.